BENTON, Ky. (Dec. 16, 2019, 5 A.M. EST) – FLW, the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today the 2020 FLW Pro Circuit roster. There was high demand to compete on the 2020 FLW Pro Circuit, with more than 165 anglers requesting a spot on the circuit in its first year since the acquisition by Major League Fishing. Per the FLW qualifying process outlined in the 2019 rules, the field will include 150 anglers plus five additional pros with medical and/or hardship exemptions. The 2020 FLW Pro Circuit field will feature 155 pros.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce this exceptional field of professional anglers,” said Kathy Fennel, FLW Executive Vice President and General Manager. “Many of the most decorated pro anglers in the sport have gotten their start at FLW, and we expect our 2020 season to be one of the most exciting, competitive seasons in our history.”

The 2020 FLW Pro Circuit roster is headlined by a stout contingent of bass-fishing professionals, including former FLW Cup champions Brad Knight (2015), John Cox (2016) and Darrel Robertson (1999) along with former All-American champions Nick LeBrun (2018), Jeremy Lawyer (2016) and Troy Morrow (2010). They will be joined by bass-fishing legends Larry Nixon – after recovering from shoulder surgery – and Gary Yamamoto, along with veteran FLW stalwarts such as Terry Bolton, Greg Bohannan and Chad Grigsby.

The 2020 FLW Pro Circuit will also showcase rising stars like Bradford Beavers, the 2018 FLW Series champion; Joseph Webster, the 2017 TBF “Living the Dream” angler; and the McMillan brothers – Brandon and Jared – whose bass-fishing pedigree puts them in contention at almost any tournament, no matter the type of fishery. The 2020 FLW Pro Circuit will also feature 28 rookies from around the country, including the 2019 TBF “Living the Dream” winner Preston Craig. Medical and/or hardship exemptions were granted to Evan Barnes, Larry Nixon, Robert Pearson, Pete Ponds and Chris Whitson.

The field will be showcased across seven regular-season tournaments around the country with competition kicking off at Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Jan. 23-26, in Brookeland, Texas, and culminating with the FLW TITLE championship on the St. Lawrence River, Aug. 8-13, in Massena, New York.

The top award at each regular-season tournament is $100,000 with $200,000 going to the FLW TITLE champion. Since the final field exceeds the published payout basis of 150 pros, FLW will survey all 155 participating pros to finalize the 2020 payout structure.

“I’m super excited to be fishing again in 2020,” said pro Greg Bohannan of Bentonville, Arkansas, a 13-year FLW veteran with more than $830,000 in career earnings. “We’ve got a great schedule – I’m especially excited for Lake Dardanelle because I played college football there and spent a lot of time on that fishery. I think we’ve got a very bright future ahead of us with the combined synergies of FLW and Major League Fishing.”

The 2020 FLW Pro Circuit will have 156 two-hour airings on network television, including 26 consecutive weeks of Friday night primetime airing on Outdoor Channel and 130 airings on Sportsman Channel for a total of 312 hours of FLW Pro Circuit programming. In addition to the tradition of live streaming the weigh-in, each of the final two days of competition will feature live-on-the-water coverage across 18 cameras. Fans can catch 54 hours of live action as it unfolds on FLWFishing.com and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).

The 2019 FLW Angler of the Year (AOY) David Dudley and 2019 FLW Cup winner Bryan Thrift will not fish the FLW Pro Circuit as they have accepted spots on the MLF Bass Pro Tour roster. Beginning in 2021, the FLW Pro Circuit will serve as the only pathway into the no-entry-fee Bass Pro Tour. The top 10 anglers from the FLW Pro Circuit based on 2020 and 2021 AOY standings will receive invitations to compete on the Bass Pro Tour.

“I think that some people always look at mergers and acquisitions a little skeptical, but MLF has been very up front and willing to listen to the anglers,” said pro Terry Bolton of Paducah, Kentucky, a 24-year FLW veteran with 48 career top-10 finishes. “They have demonstrated that they are willing to listen and change things to benefit their customers – us, the anglers – and I think that is a very good thing. The new Pro Circuit will be different, but it’s a lot of the same old faces with some new twists involved and I think it brings a new energy to the tournaments. There are several lakes on the schedule that I am really looking forward to and I’m excited to get back at it.”

In FLW Pro Circuit competition anglers are vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2020 FLW TITLE championship. The 2020 FLW TITLE, featuring the top 50 FLW Pro Circuit anglers, will be held on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York, Aug. 8-13.

 

2020 FLW Pro Circuit Anglers

Jason Abram                                       Piney Flats, Tenn.

*Barron Adams                                   Mineral Bluff, Ga.

Randy Allen                                        Gilliam, La.

*T.R. Andreas                                     Kerrville, Texas

*Travis Archer                                    Covington, Wash.

Scott Ashmore                                    Broken Arrow, Okla.

Evan Barnes                                        Hot Springs, Ark.

Clayton Batts                                      Butler, Ga.

Bradford Beavers                                Summerville, S.C.

Matt Becker                                        Finleyville, Pa.

Bob Behrle                                          Hoover, Ala.

James Biggs                                        Euless, Texas

Daryl Biron                                         South Windsor, Conn.

Greg Bohannan                                   Bentonville, Ark.

Terry Bolton                                       Benton, Ky.

Bailey Boutries                                   Daphne, Ala.

Christopher Brasher                            Longview, Texas

Aaron Britt                                          Yuba City, Calif.

Grae Buck                                           Harleysville, Pa.

Miles Burghoff                                   Hixson, Tenn.

*Dennis Cameron                               Travelers Rest, S.C.

Jon Canada                                         Helena, Ala.

Ryan Chandler                                    Hebron, Ind.

Glenn Chappelear                               Acworth, Ga.

Jason Christy                                      Dadeville, Ala.

Joey Cifuentes                                    Clinton, Ark.

Ramie Colson Jr.                                Cadiz, Ky.

Kyle Cortiana                                     Coweta, Okla.

John Cox                                             DeBary, Fla.

*Preston Craig                                    Philadelphia, Tenn.

*Mitch Crane                                      Columbus, Miss.

*Lance Crawford                                Broken Bow, Okla.

Alex Davis                                          Albertville, Ala.

Darrell Davis                                      Dover, Fla.

Randy Despino                                   Colfax, La.

Tommy Dickerson                              Orange, Texas

Jeff Dobson                                         Bartlesville, Okla.

Scott Dobson                                      Clarkston, Mich.

Bradley Dortch                                   Atmore, Ala.

Josh Douglas                                       Isle, Minn.

Kurt Dove                                           Del Rio, Texas

Tony Dumitras                                    Winston, Ga.

Dakota Ebare                                      Stephenville, Texas

Jon Englund                                        Farwell, Minn.

Charlie Evans                                     Berea, Ky.

Ron Farrow                                         Rock Hill, S.C.

Mark Fisher                                        Wauconda, Ill.

*Cole Floyd                                        Leesburg, Ohio

Tim Frederick                                     Leesburg, Fla.

Hunter Freeman                                  Monroe, La.

Nick Gainey                                        Charleston, S.C.

David Gaston                                      Sylacauga, Ala.

*Kyle Gelles                                       Pingree, Idaho

Sam George                                        Athens, Ala.

*Darold Gleason                                 Many, La.

Matt Greenblatt                                   Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Chad Grigsby                                      Maple Grove, Minn.

Chip Harrington                                  Olathe, Kan.

Dylan Hays                                         El Dorado, Ark.

Billy Hines                                          Vacaville, Calif.

Jamie Horton                                      Centreville, Ala.

Miles Howe                                        San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

*Roger Hughes                                   Bessemer, Ala.

John Hunter                                        Shelbyville, Ky.

Bill Hutchison                                     Bessemer, Ala.

Eric Jackson                                        Walling, Tenn.

Rob Kilby                                           Hot Springs, Ark.

Brad Knight                                        Lancing, Tenn.

Jeremy Lawyer                                   Sarcoxie, Mo.

Nick LeBrun                                       Bossier City, La.

Richard Lowitzki                                Hampshire, Ill.

*Terry Luedtke                                   Burton, Texas

*Erik Luzak                                        Fenelon Falls, Ontario, Canada

*Kevin Martin                                    Crown City, Ohio

Lendell Martin Jr.                               Nacogdoches, Texas

Michael Matthee                                 Centurion, Gauteng Province, South Africa

Billy McCaghren                                Mayflower, Ark.

Chris McCall                                      Palmer, Texas

Johnny McCombs                               Morris, Ala.

Bill McDonald                                    Greenwood, Ind.

Brandon McMillan                             Clewiston, Fla.

Jared McMillan                                   Belle Glade, Fla.

*Kevin Meeks                                     Smyrna, Tenn.

Jason Meninger                                   Saint Augustine, Fla.

*Colby Miller                                     Elmer, La.

Kerry Milner                                       Bono, Ark.

Kurt Mitchell                                      Milford, Del.

Tom Monsoor                                     La Crosse, Wis.

*Jake Morris                                       McKee, Ky.

Troy Morrow                                      Eastanollee, Ga.

Brandon Mosley                                 Choctaw, Okla.

Jim Moynagh                                      Carver, Minn.

Shawn Murphy                                   Nicholasville, Ky.

*Robert Nakatomi                              Sacramento, Calif.

Chris Neau                                          New Orleans, La.

Corey Neece                                       Bristol, Tenn.

Ron Nelson                                         Berrien Springs, Mich.

Dicky Newberry                                 Houston, Texas

*Cody Nichols                                    Fayette, Ala.

James Niggemeyer                             Van, Texas

Larry Nixon                                        Quitman, Ark.

*Lane Olson                                       Tigard, Ore.

*Jake Ormond                                     Sterlington, La.

Jordan Osborne                                   Longview, Texas

*Dave Parsons                                    Yantis, Texas

*Tyson Patrick                                    Midland, Texas

Robert Pearson                                   Herndon, Va.

*David Perdue                                    Wirtz, Va.

Pete Ponds                                          Madison, Miss.

Drew Ratley                                        Shreveport, La.

Tom Redington                                   Royse City, Texas

Matt Reed                                           Madisonville, Texas

Clark Reehm                                       Elm Grove, La.

Jimmy Reese                                       Witter Springs, Calif.

Jason Reyes                                        Huffman, Texas

Darrel Robertson                                Jay, Okla.

Troy Roder                                         Brookeland, Texas

Zell Rowland                                      Montgomery, Texas

Rusty Salewske                                   Alpine, Calif.

Ryan Salzman                                     Huntsville, Ala.

Casey Scanlon                                    Lake Ozark, Mo.

Braxton Setzer                                    Montgomery, Ala.

Alvin Shaw                                         Roaring Gap, N.C

Spencer Shuffield                               Hot Springs, Ark.

Charles Sim                                        Nepean, Ontario, Canada

A.J. Slegona                                        Pine Bush, N.Y.

Blake Smith                                        Lakeland, Fla.

Derrick Snavely                                  Piney Flats, Tenn.

Matthew Stefan                                   Junction City, Wis.

Tyler Stewart                                      West Monroe, La.

Chuck Stratton                                    Chaffee, Mo.

Wade Strelic                                       Alpine, Calif.

*Laramy Strickland                            Bushnell, Fla.

Mike Surman                                      Boca Raton, Fla.

Rusty Trancygier                                Hahira, Ga.

Todd Tucker                                       Moultrie, Ga.

Jim Tutt                                               Longview, Texas

*Jason Vance                                      Battle Ground, Ind.

John Voyles                                        Petersburg, Ind.

Jacob Wall                                          Jacksonville, Ore.

Chad Warren                                       Sand Springs, Okla.

*Jimmy Washam                                Covington, Tenn.

Joshua Weaver                                    Macon, Ga.

Joseph Webster                                   Winfield, Ala.

Kyle Weisenburger                             Ottawa, Ohio

Chris Whitson                                     Louisville, Tenn.

Scott Wiley                                         Bay Minette, Ala.

Alton Wilhoit                                      Noble, Okla.

David Williams                                   Maiden, N.C.

Barry Wilson                                      Birmingham, Ala.

*Chance Woodard                              Paris, Texas

Tyler Woolcott                                   Port Orange, Fla.

David Wootton                                   Collierville, Tenn.

Gary Yamamoto                                 Palestine, Texas

Andy Young                                       Isle, Minn.

 

*denotes FLW Pro Circuit Rookie